Spike



H. A. CORNEL;

SPIKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1920.

PatentedSept. 13,1921.

Henry A. Chm-1E1 UNITED STATES eins.

- SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 13, 1921- Application filed April 14, 1920. Serial No. 373,946.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that HENRY A. CoRNnL, subjectof the Kingof Great Britain, residing at Cochrane, Province of Ontario, and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spikes, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to spikes and more particularly to that type used in retaining rails in operative relation to wooden ties or wooden block inserts used in metallic or composition ties.

An important object of this invention is to provide a spike of the above described character which can be used as a rail retainer, having all the advantages of the ordinary plain spike and in addition provide a more effective and permanent means of holding the rail into operative relation to the tie.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a spike of the above mentioned character which during repair or maintenance work can be withdrawn without mutilation to the tie itself.

Other objects and advantages of the in vention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the rail spike and a longitudinal section of a rail tie into which it is driven.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the rail spike, and a transverse section of the tie.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the spike taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings wherein for purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, A designates a tie or other support the fibers of which run lon gitudinally of the support and transversely of the rail as is the usual practice, and B the rail retainer or spike.

The spike B comprises the shank 5, preferably polygonal in cross section, and a head 6 having a projecting portion 7 formed upon one side of the shank 5, which in practice engages the foot of the rail, not shown in the drawings.

The sides 8 and 9 of the shank 5 are parallel with the longitudinal axis of the projecting head 7 and have relatively shallow indentations 10 therein arranged preferably edge 14. On thesides 8 and 9 intermediate the ends of the chisel edge and the indentations 10 it is preferred to provide bulges 15 which extend beyond the plane of their respective sides.

The great diiiiculty heretofore experienced with the plain spike is that it does not offer suiiicient resistance to withdrawal and the cut or barbed spike used to some extent has been found to rupture the fibers about the spike and offer too great a resistance to withdrawal, tearing the fibers in its removal to that extent where a new tie may be necessary. In the driving of a spike formed according to my invention, as the chisel edge 14: cuts the grain trans versely the fibers adjacent the sides 8 and 9 are forced back by the bulge 15 without rupture. As the spike is driven farther into the tie the fibers having been forced back by the bulge 15 do not come into contact with the indented portions immediately and in fact barely touch the plane formed by the faces of the extending portions 11. It is thus seen that the wedging or crushing action is not confined to one plane for the entire'length of the spike and consequently the cumulative effect upon the wood fibers is reduced.

The spike having been driven to its required depth, the fibers adjacent the sides 8 and 9 not having been ruptured but merely pushed aside tend to return to their normal position and as a result swell into the indentations 10 to these sides. It can be readily seen that this provides the additional resistance to the upward forces towhich a railway spike is subjected.

If during maintenance work, it is necessary to withdraw the spike, the fact that the fibers are swollen into the indentations 10 will not cause their mutilation upon withdrawal of the spike, but will rather be forced back without rupture due to the shallow depth of the indentations.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of projections and indentations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

I claim:

1. A rail spike comprising a polygonal shank, a head therefor projecting beyond a side of said shank to overlie the foot of a rail, said shank provided with flat inden tations therein on the sides parallel with the longitudinal axis of the projecting head, and extending the entire width of the sides, and a bulge upon said sides .PIOjQCtlDg be yond the plane ofsaid sides.

2. A rail spike having a polygonal shank, and a head, said shank having a chisel edge and provided with indentations in its opposite sides, and bulges on said sides intermediate the ends: of the chisel edge and the lowermost indentations, said bulges extending beyond the planes of said sides.

3. In combination with a tie with fibers extendinglongitudinally, a spike comprising a shank and a head, a portion of the head extending beyond one of the faces of the shank, said extending portion of the head pointing in the line ofdirection of the fibers of the tie and said shank provided 

